Quick Reaction: Raptors 107, Wolves 115
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| Toronto Raptors | 107 – 115 |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
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D
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B. Ingram 29 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 5-16 FG, 0-1 3FG, 4-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -27 +/- Woof. With the offence deprioritizing him, he didn’t find his way into the flow of things and still took very difficult shots. Which he missed. He tried to challenge Gobert and got blocked. Committed an eight-second violation because he couldn’t get the ball over the line against pressure. He did push in transition, which was a positive. And defensively, he was loose. When he switched onto Edwards, the Wolves star was able to create for more space than he was against Barnes. He played too deep in the lane when helping off of DiVincenzo, giving up an open catch-and-shoot triple. |
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B+
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S. Barnes 36 MIN, 16 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 7-12 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- For most of the game, as long as Barnes was on the floor, the Raptors were a completely competitive team. When he sat, the wheels fell off. This has been something of a pattern against the league’s elite in recent weeks. He was looking to facilitate for the team offence early, which led to little, so he just splashed a triple on his first shot, for funsies. Then another from the corner when Toronto desperately needed any points. Defensively, his work on Anthony Edwards was — as has become standard fare — immaculate. His help around the rim when he wasn’t on Edwards forced a number of misses. He was more aggressive offensively in the second half, hitting a post fade, then driving and finding Poeltl on a bullet pass for a layup. Faded in the fourth like everyone else. |
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C+
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J. Poeltl 29 MIN, 9 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -23 +/- Early on, his (healthy) presence helped the starters fit together very cleanly. He was creating for teammates with screens, finishing off Barrett passes, and really cleaning the glass when Barnes chased blocks. Excellent stuff. He was even diving for loose balls! But defensively, he really struggled to stay in front of Randle — yet was successful in basically any other matchup. And Randle was his matchup. Later on, he started getting bullied by Gobert on the glass and failed to find his way to the ball against an increasingly aggressive Minnesota defence. He lost that connectivity and didn't see much of the ball. |
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B+
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R. Barrett 30 MIN, 25 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 9-14 FG, 4-5 3FG, 3-4 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- He’s looked much healthier in the last few games. He hasn’t been turning to pivots and slow-downs on his drives, which are not his strength. He needs that last step to be bursty in order for his finishing to be strong, and it was tonight. His push shots are starting to get back to their traditional excellence, too. And defensively, he was much improved from his last contest. Was present as a helper deterring shots, and he had fewer moments of inattention. The Raptors had him battling Gobert at times, and he fought well there. Got dunked on. That’s life. |
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B+
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I. Quickley 30 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST, 6-10 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 8 +/- A really miserable first half, but he ended up with an okay game. Lots of actions with Poeltl early (which I called for in my most recent feature!), which led nowhere. A fumbled pass, then a missed triple. Later he threw a telegraphed turnover. Picked up his dribble in no-man’s land and got bailed out on a Minnesota foul on his pass. Forced a number of shots afterwards. But in the second, he stepped into a pull-up triple to open things. He stepped in front of an Edwards drive and forced hesitation, letting Poeltl strip him from behind. Drove for a push shot. In the fourth, he drove for some half-court points, too. Toronto’s problems in that half started when he hit the bench. |
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D-
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J. Shead 17 MIN, 2 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -19 +/- Some nights he is able to survive inefficient shooting. Not tonight. He tried: after missing some looks, he drew an offensive foul on an inbounds play to win a possession. But Toronto got shelled in his minutes because the Raptors just couldn’t score with him at the helm. Winning a possession here or there can’t outweigh an inability to score in the half court. Some of his passes were far too wild and led to needless turnovers. He ended up scoring in garbage time, but this was close to his worst game of the season. |
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C+
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S. Mamukelashvili 23 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 5-8 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-1 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Mamukelashvili did a lot when guarded by not Gobert. He drove for an and-1, hit a triple, just found his way to points. In the third, he crashed for a putback that Toronto desperately needed. But he couldn't sustain it, much like the rest of the team. |
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C
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J. Walter 17 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- Started slow, but found his way into things by tying up McDaniels on a drive, ripping Naz Reid above the break, and drawing a foul on a corner triple. Toronto’s bench struggled as a unit, but Walter certainly had his moments. He tried to force those moments in the second half, driving for a floater that wasn’t even close, getting beat back door when he was too aggressive. In that second half, he was pressing too hard to make things happen rather than letting the game come to him. |
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D+
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J. Mogbo 09 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 4 +/- Saw his first real minutes in weeks, and on his first defensive possession he moved his feet on a switch, blocked a shot, and forced a shot-clock violation. The defensive juice remains potent. But offensively, he remains unable to offer enough to justify those minutes. Toronto lost his minutes by a wide margin, largely because of offensive inability in the half court. Everything was non-threatening. That’s not all Mogbo’s fault, but he just doesn’t threaten a team without the ball or do much of anything with it. |
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Inc
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J. Battle 09 MIN, 2 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/- Rajakovic used him as a closer again, and the Raptors actually made a small run in his minutes. He wasn’t particularly involved, as it was mostly Quickley finding his own shots. |
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Inc
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G. Dick 03 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Garbage Time. |
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Inc
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T. Jackson-Davis 03 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 8 +/- Garbage Time. |
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C+
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Darko Rajakovic Coach He was searching in ways that I haven’t seen from him in weeks. He tried Mogbo early, which wasn’t survivable offensively. He tried some zone defence. He tried cross-matching and guarding Gobert with RJ Barrett. Ultimately, when Toronto is out-talented, and Ingram can’t find his way into the game? That’s a recipe for disaster. That’s not on Rajakovic, though, who was trying to tilt the balance in a number of creative ways. The fourth quarter, though, was disappointing that the team didn't bother showing up. |
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